Manufacturing sound-record tablets.



1. SANDERS. MANUFACTURING SOUND RECORD TABLETS. APPLICATION FILED FEB- 6. 1909.

1,1 79,660. Patented Apr. 18, 1916.

F/BROZ/S 0/5/(5 C07 007.

car 0/5/(5 00/50.

DR/ED D/S/(S S/ZED //V VACUUM CHAMBER 5/250 0/576 PRESSED 70' EXPEL 50/951 05 S/Z/A/CT' f 5/250 0/5/(5 05/ /51/50 FROM PRESSURE 70 CA USE RE/IBSORP- T/U/V. OF/IDHERENT :s/z/A/er DR/ED S/ZED 0/5/(5 //E/4 7E0 AND/ RESSED 7'0 EL/47'7'E/V COA T/NG 05 RECORD M/l TER/AL APPL/ED SOUND @ROOI E FORMED COATED D/5/f FROM/4 OUND RECORD MATR/X 'U/VDER HEAT AND PRESSURE wit" eooeo JOSEPH- SANDEBS, OF WASHINGTON, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.

MANUFACTURTNG SOUND-RECORD TABLETS.

T 0 all whom it may concern Be it known that I, JosEP-H SANDERS, a citizen of the United States, residing at 770 Girard street, in the city of Washington and District of Columbia, have invented a new and useful Improvement inManufacturing Sound-Record Tablets, of which the following is a'specification.

This invention has reference to improvements in the manufacture of sound record tablets and more particularly in the manufacture of sound record tablets of the type disclosed in my application No. 20l,024,

filed April 20, 190i, for'improvements in against the same while both the coating and the disk are heated so' that the coating and sizing have become appropriately softened and the basic disk has become more or less I ticularly 'gramophone In accordance with the present inventlon. disks of the proper size, agreeable to the condensed by the pressure used, the sizing will hold the compressed base in the condensed condition after the sizing has become hardened by the chilling of the tablet before the pressure is relieved. I

The present invention relates more part0 the manufacture of the basic disks upon which the coating of record material is either directly applied as in the aforesaid application or is first applied to a thin carrier such as a sheet of paper and then the coated sheet is applied to the fibrous, sized base as set forth in my application No. 239,961, filed Januaryfi, 1905, for

record tablets.

sizes of commercial forms of sound record tablets, are first cut or punched from pulpboard, or strawboard, or cardboard, or any other of the materials suitable for the purpose but which for convenience of description will' be considered as included in the generic term cardboard. Of course the disks may be molded into shape from suitable Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. is, ieic.

Application filed February 6, 1909. Serial No. 476,419.

stock and thus the waste due to cutting or punching from sheets of the material is avoided. Since the cardboard disks areliable to or do actually contain some mois-- ture they are now dried in order to expel any moisture which they may contain. The disks are now ready for treatment with a suitable sizing which sizing should, for the purposes of the invention, be sufficiently adherent to the fibers making up the card board disk to cement these fibers together even against considerable force tending to separate the fibers. Furthermore the sizing should be characterized by being comparatively hard and resistant at ordinary temperature so as not to yield under the bandling to which record tablets are ordinarily subjected, but which will soften, under a degree of heat low material entering into the composition of the record receiving surface, to a sufficient degree to yield under. the pressure to which the tablet is subjected in the operation of pressing a record groove into the record receiving surface from a matrix of the sound record.

There are various .compositions suitable for the sizing, such for instance as those named in the aforesaid applications for Letters Patent, but I have found Manila gum to be a most excellent substance for the purpose,

cordance with the present invention when dissolved in a suitable solvent, I have ob tained very satisfactory results when the gum' is dissolved in wood alcohol and benzol in the proportion of eighty poundsof Manila gum to forty-six pints of wood alco- -hol and fifty pints of benzol, it being understood however, that these proportions may be varied Without disadvantage. Since the materials used as bought in the open market are not always free from dirt, it is advisable to filter the solution.

In order to apply the solution of sizing to the disks they are placed in a vacuum chamber preferably in baskets suitably shaped to support the disks on edge and present practically the entire exterior of the disks to the action of the sizing solution. The air is extracted from the chamber in which the disks are placed, this chamber of course being capable of being sealed against the entrance of air and as the air is extracted from the enough not to injure the.

and since the gum is applied in acchamber such air as may be imprisoned within the disks is also extracted. The sizing solution is now allowed to flow into the vacuum chamber to a depth sufiicient 'to immerse completely the cardboard disks within said chamber and under these conditions the sizing penetrates the innermost interstices of the disks thus thoroughly infiltrating them,

even to the intercellular structure. The

vacuum chamber is now opened and the impregnated disks are removed, the baskets or supports for the disks having maintained them separated one from the other so that the infiltration was thorough and expedi tious. The infiltrated disks are now stacked with or without separators but preferably without separators, and are placed in a press and subjected to pressure, say from thirtyfive to forty tons total for disks which are about ten inches in diameter. This causes the surplus sizing to be squeezed out and such surplus sizing may be caught in a suitable receptacle and returnedto the reservoir of the sizing'solution or may be allowedto flow spontaneously to the reservoir through a suitable conduit. Of course the expressing of the surplus sizing solution maybe accOmplished either by a press as the term is-ordinarily understood or the disks may be passed through pressing rolls which may be properly spaced and adjusted for the same purpose.

When the pressure is relieved each disk will return toward its normal thickness,

having'been reduced in thickness by the applied pressure. This will cause'the re-absorption of anyof the sizing which remains on the surface or edges of the disks and does not flow away therefrom so that the surface becomes relatively dry and thus permits easy handling of the sized disks even though a large portion of the solvent is still retained in the disks and the sizing is still in a. sticky or tacky condition.

By regulating the pressure to the fluidity 'of the sizing solution or by suiting the amount of solvent employed to the pressure used, the amount of sizing in the disks after the surplus has been removed may be fixed to a nicety. The amount of sizing used should be such that after the final compres: sion of the tablet under the pressure used for impressing the sound record groove into the tablet from a matrix thereof there will be neither material surplus nor lack of'sizingin the basic disks. Theproportions of the ingredients of the sizing solution and i the .pressures employed as hereinbefore given are those used in actual practice and are very close to if not actually the exact proportions of ingredients for the sizing solution, and very close to the pressures needed for the best results With pulpboard disks.

After the disks have been infiltrated with the sizing solution and the surplus removed in the manner described the disks are dried.

Since air drying would be ,very slow the disks are-dried in an oven or in a vacuum chaniberand if so desired the solvent used in the sizing solution may be recovered in the usual manner.

The dried disks with the sizing therein are liable to be more or less distorted from a true fiat shape and sometimes these disks contain hard spots incorporated in the mate.

not'always necessaryeven when hard spots. are present orv suspected, but may be used, if

needed, to flatten out hard spots in some kinds ofcardboard. The separators, when used either in the step just named or when the disks are first subjected to pressure, may be metal disks of suitable diameter and suitable thickness, sheet metal being thick enough for the purpose. The disks having been cooledunder the pressure used in the last describedstep remain fiat and of even thickness indefinitely. The-disks may now, if desirable or necessary, have the edges rounded off or smoothed in a. lathe and are ready to receive the surface coating of any desired suitable record receiving material in any suitable manner. The methods set-forth in-mv aforesaid application for Letters Bat;

ent N 0. 204,024, or in the aforesaid a.ppl{ijca-' tion No. 239,961, or in my application No.

lets. The shellac may be incorporated with the powdered oxid of iron on hot mixing rolls and after coolingtl iematerlal be powdered. Then by coatii g the with a thin solution of shellac or with what may be termed an emulsion'of the material-just described made by dissolving the shellac in a solvent, while the oxid of iron remains in suspension in the solution, the powdered record material may be deposited in a, thin layer on the still wet ceating which then acts to cement the powdered material to the basic disk. This method of applying the record receiving material to the basic disk of record receiving and also the specific material mentioned is to be taken as illustrative only since various other materials and other methods of apply ing the materials to the-basic disk may be employed. It may be stated however, that the particular material mentioned and the method of application thereof gives very satisfactory results. 9

The method of producing a sound record groove from a matrix of an original sound record in a tablet having a surface coating material on a basic disk sized with amaterial which softens under heat consists in heatingsuch tablet until the surface coating and the sizing have become sufficiently softened and then applying pressure with the matrix against the face of the tablet thus impressing the matrix into the softened facing layer. The fibrous por tion of the base or under-structure being incompletely filled with the sizing, will condense under the action of the pressure until the interstices of the fibrous base are substantially filled withthe'sizing, or at least so filled that when the tablet has cooled to the normal atmospheric temperature, which is usually accomplished by chilling the mold in which the matrix and tablet are placed for compression, the fibers making up the fibrous base are all cemented together by the sizing. p

The finished tablet withthe sound record groove impressed is indistinguishable in appearance from a record tablet made wholly from record material, but the tablet with the fibrous base or under-structure is materially lighter than the solid record tablet and far more resistantto breakage. Moreover, the base or understructure or core of the finished tablet has substantially the same coefficients of bending and expansion as the surface coating of gramophone record material, wherefore cracking of the surface mate-- rial and warping of the tablets is avoided. The base or core is also resonant, so that there is no deadening of the sound in reproduction thereof from the complete sound record tablet. The operation of pressing the matrix into the record surface and the resultant tablet is not materially different from the method of procedure and the result obtained when the record receiving material is first applied to a paper carrier anc. the paper carrier so coated is then applied to the basic sized disk.

In .the accompanying drawing forming a part of this specification there is shown a diagram in which the various steps already described are briefly set forth in order, and

since these steps have all been hereinbeforefully set forth the description need not be repeated with special reference to the schematic representation of the drawing.

Instead, however, of applying the sizing in solution to the base or 111 addition to the airaeeo use of a solvent, the sizing may be brought to a flowing condition by heat. The, fibrous disks are then immersed in the hot sizing and are afterward pressed while the sizing is still hot enough to flow, or after reheating if desired, to expel the surplus sizing and to cause the reabsorption of adherent sizing,

after which the disks are cooled either sponjecting the infiltrated base to such heavy pressure as to discharge surplussizing solution and on relief of the pressure cause such reabsorption of the solution as to render the surface of the base'dry enough for handling.

2. The method of producing basic'disks or understructures for sound records, con- .sisting in'infiltrating a fibrous base with a solution of a thermoplastic sizing and subjecting the infiltrated base to such heavy pressure as to discharge surplus sizing solution and on relief of the pressure cause such reabsorption of the solution still on the surface of the fibrous base as to render said surface dry enough for handling.

The method of producing basis disks or understructures for sound record tab-- lets, consisting in subjecting a fibrous base to subatmospheric pressure and infiltrating it with a solution of a thermoplastic sizing and then subjecting the infiltrated base to such heavy pressure as to discharge surplus sizing solution and on the relief of the pressure cause the reabsorption of sizing solution on the surface of the infiltrated fibrous base to an extent to thereby render the surface of the base dry enough for handling.

4- The method of producing basic disks or under-structures for sound record tablets. consisting in infiltrating a fibrous di 1; \v1th solution of norlnallyhard sizing capable of softening under heat and before the solvent has evaporated subjecting the disk to heavy pressure simultaneously applied to substantially the whole area of the disk and thereby causing reabsorption of sizing solution still on the surface of the disk to an extent to render the surface of the disk dry enough for handling.

The method of producing basic disks or understructures for sound record tablets consisting in infiltrating a fibrous disk with a solution of a resinous sizing in a llG then relieving the pressure and' volatile solvent, then subjecting-theinfiltrated disk to heavy pressure simultaneously applied over substantially the whole area of the disk to discharge surplus sizing solution, then relieving the pressure to thereby cause reabsorption of sizing solu-- tioil still' on the surface of the disk to an extent to render the surface dry enough for handling and then subjecting thedisk to heat to evaporate the solvent.-

' 6. The method of, producing basic disks or understructures for sound record tablets, which consists in extracting the air from the immediate neighborhood of a base, then infiltrating the base with a sizing in solution, then subjecting the infiltrated base to heavy pressure to 'forceout a portion of p the absorbed sizing solution, and then re lieving the pressure and thereby causing the base to re-absorb substantially all the sizing solution then on the surface thereof.

7. The method of producing basic disks or understructures for sound record tablets, which consists in extracting the air from the immediate neighborhood of a base, then infiltrating the base with a thermoplastic sizing in solution, then subjecting the infiltrated base to heavy pressure to force out to heavy pressure to force out a portion of. the absorbed sizing in solution, and then.

" relieving the pressure and'thereby causing the base to i'e-absorb any sizing solution on the surface thereof to render such surface dry enough to handle.

9. The method of'pi'oducin'g basic .disks or understructures for sound record tablets, which consist in extracting the air 'from the immediate neighborhood of a base, then infiltrating the base With a thermoplastic sizing in solution, then subjecting the infiltrated base to heavy pressure to force out a portion of the absorbedsizing solution,

then relieving the pressure and thereby;

causing the base to re-absorb the sizing solution. on the surface thereof to an extent to render the surface dry enough to handle, and then causing the evaporation of the solvent and the consequentsolidification of the sizing. v 10. The method of producing basic-disks or understructures for soiincl; ;1'ecbrd tab-- lets, which consists in infiltrating-a -fibrpus,I disk with thermoplastic sizing, j then="sof+"' ten'ing the sizing by heat, and then straightening or flattening the disk by pressure while the sizing is plastic and maintaining the pressure until the sizing has solidified by cooling. g

11. The method of producing .basic disks or understructures for sound record tablets,

which consists in infiltrating a fibrous disk with thermoplastic sizing, then softening the sizing by heat,;and then straightening or flattening the disk by pressure against surfaces unyielding to the pressure used While the sizing is plastic, and maintaining the pressure until the sizing hassolidified by cooling.

12. The method of producing basic disks or understructures for sound record tablets,

which consists in infiltrating a fibrous base with a solution of a tliermoplastic'sizing in a. vacuum chamber, then subjecting the infiltrated base to pressure to force out a portion of tlie'absorbed sizingsolution, then relieving the" base from pressureto cause surface of the base, then causing therethle softened sizing to pressure. 3. The method of producing tablets for fronf matrices ofthesame,- which consists the reception-of sound record impressions the re-absorption of sizing clinging to the 'inoval of the sizing solvent from the base, ,themheating the base to soften the sizing, andithen subjecting the-heated base with in infiltrating a fibrous base with thermoplastic sizing, tlien softening the sizing by' heat, then straightening or flattening the basewhile' the sizing is plastic by pressure applied to said base and maintainingthe pressure "-;unt1l the sizing has solidified by cooling, and then applying a surface coating; of suitable sound record material.

14. Tlie method of producing tablets for the reception of sound record grooves from a' matrix of the same under the action of heat andfpressure, which consists in infiltrating a fibrous disk with thermoplastic sizlng, then softeningthe sizing by heat,

- then straightening out or flattening the disk by pressure applied while the sizing is plastic and with the disk against surfaces unyielding to the pressure used, and maintaining the pressure until the sizing has solidi fied by coolinggand then a 'iplyingiathermoplastic sound record material to the surface of the tablet.

15. The method of producing sound record tablets. which consistsin infiltrating a fibrous disk with thermoplastic sizing, then sizing is plastic pressing the disk against surfaces unyielding to the pressure used and f maintaining'the pressure until the sizing hassolidified by cooling, then coating the sized disk with thermoplastic record material, and finally impressing a sound record softening the sizing by heat, then while the g' ifoove into the record material from a marecord under the action of tars-nee trix of a sound record while the tablet is softened by heat.

16. The method of producingsound record tablets which consists in first producing disks of fibrous 1naterial,-then infiltrating the disks, with a solution of a thermoplastic sizing, thensubjecting the infiltrated disks to pressure toforce out a portion of the sizing solution, then relieving the pressure and permitting the disks to swell to re-absorb sizing solution clinging to the surface of the disks, then causing the solidification of the sizing in the disk by the evaporation of the solvent thereof, then heating the sized disks, then flattening the disks by pressure while tlie'sizing is softened by heat,-then coating the disk with a suitable record material, and finally producing a sound record groove in the record receiving surface from a matrix of such sound heat and pressure.

17. A step in the sound record tablets,

method of I preparing which consists insub- 'ectin fibrous basic disks containin thermoplastic sizing to the action of heat and pressure before the application of the record receiving surface.

18. A step in the method of preparing sound record tablets, which consists in subjecting fibrous basic disks containing thermoplastic sizing to the action of heat and pressure against surfaces resistant to the action of the heat and pressure fore the application of the record receiving surface.

19. The method of producing basic disks or understructures for sound record tablets, which consists in infiltrating a fibrous base with a sizing, and while the sizing is in a condition to flow-expressing surplus sizing, then relieving the pressure to cause reabsorption of sizing clingi to the surface of e case, and then causing the solidifin of the sizing and subjecting the soed base to pressure.

The method of producing basic disks erstructures for sou d. record tablets, i consists in infiltra m wiui a in solution ing is in condition to flow plus sizing, then relievin, pi cause reabsorption of 5121? clinging to the surface of the base, then ti 1) sized base to drive off the solvat and then subjecting the base to pressure.

21. The method of producing basic disks or understructures for sound record tablets, which consists in impregnating such disk with a sizing. then expressing surplus sizing, then relieving pressure, then subjecting the sized base to the action of a vacuum and heat, and then while the sized base is hot subjecting the base to pressure.

22. The method of producing basic disks used and be-' dition to flow, expressing surplus sizing,

then relieving the pressure to cause reabsorp tion-of sizing clinging to the surface of the base, then subjecting the sized base to the action of sub-atmospheric pressure and heat, then while the base is hot, subjecting it to pressure, then coatingv the base with thermoplastic sound record material and then producing thereupon a sound record from a matrix of the 'same under the action of heat and pressure.

23. The method of producing basic disks or understructures for sound record tablets, consisting in infiltrating the disks or understructures with a solution of resinous sizing,.placing a plurality of the sized disks or understructures in face to face relation,

pressing the disks or understructures to of any sizing still on the surfaces, all while the sizing is still in solution.

24:. The method of producing basic disks or understructures preparatory to'coating them with gramophone record material, consisting in infiltrating, the fibrousbases with a solution of a sizing which is hard and resonant when cold and plastic when heated and also has expansion and bending coefficients substantially like those of gramophone record material, grounding the infiltrated bases face to face, applying pressure to the ends of the group to compress the bases and thereby express sizing solution therefrom, and then relieving the pressure and permitting the bases to return toward the uncompressed cause reabsorption of any sizing clinging to the surfaces of the bases.

25. The methodof preparing basic disks or understructures for sound-record tablets, which consists in infiltrating fibrous bases with a solution of resinous sizing, and then rendering the surfaces of the bases relatively dry by stacking the infiltrated bases and compressing the stack to express surplus sizing and then relieving the pressure to permit the bases to return toward the un compressed condition and thereby reabsorb any expressed sizing solution still on the surfaces of the bases.

26. The method of producing sound rec- 0rd tablets which consists in first producing condition tocardboard disks, then infiltrating the disks terial, and finally producing a sound record groove in the record material from a suitable matrix under the action of heat and pressure.

27. The method of producing sound rec- 0rd tablets, WhlClI'COIISlStS in infiltrating a cardboard vbaseivith thermoplastic sizing and While the sizing is in a condition to flow expressing surplus sizing and causing reabsorption of any sizing on the surface of the base to' render such surface free enou h from sizin for handlin at once 2a 3 coating the base with sound record material and producing thereupon a ,sound record from a matrix of the same under the action of heat and pressure. p

28. The method of producing sound rec 0rd tablets, which consists in producingdisks of cardboard, infiltrating them under subatmospheric pressure With a solution of resinous sizing, stacking the infiltrated disks and subjecting them to heavy pressure to discharge surplus sizing solution, relleving the pressure to cause reabsorption of any sizing clinging to the surfaces of the disks to an extent to render them sufficiently JOSEPH SANDERS.

lVitnesses:

- F. T.,CHA1 MA-N,

'E. DANIELS. 

